Double visor helmet

ABSTRACT

A RIGID PROTECTIVE HELMET HAVING A COVER SECURED TO A SHELL TO DEFINE A RECESS FOR RECEIVING FIRST AND SECOND ADJUSTABLE VISORS EACH MOVABLE INDEPENDENTLY OF THE OTHER ALONG A PATH BETWEEN AN EYE-SHIELDING POSITION AND A RETRACTED POSITION, EACH VISOR BEING CONTROLLED BY A MANUALLY OPERABLE VISOR SLIDER ELEMENT. EACH SLIDER ELEMENT PROJECTS OUTWARDLY FROM THE VISOR THROUGH A SLOT IN THE COVER AND TERMINATES IN A CONTROL KNOB MOVABLE ALONG THE SLOT. LINKING MEANS CONNECTS EACH SLIDER ELE-   MENT TO THE VISOR AT AN UPPER CENTRAL LOCALITY THEREOF. AS THE SLIDER ELEMENT IS MOVED ALONG THE SLOT IN ONE DIRECTION THE VISOR IS CAUSED TO MOVE DOWNWARDLY FROM A RETRACTED POSITION TO AN EYE-SHIELDING POSITION AND WHEN THE SLIDER ELEMENT IS MOVED ALONG THE SLOT IN THE OTHER DIRECTION THE VISOR IS MOVED FROM AN EYE-SHIELDING POSITION TO A RETRACTED POSITION.

March 9, 1971 Filed July 24, 1969 J. J. PETRUZELLA, JR 3,568,211

DOUBLE VISOR HELMET 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 l NVEN TOR. J/IMZU JOMP/l r ff/0211 A, JR

BY I W March 9, 9 J. J. PETRUZELLA, JR

' DOUBLE VISOR HELMET Filed Juiy 24, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 J; J.PETRUZELLA, JR

March 9, 1971 DOUBLE VISOR HELMET 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 24, 1969March 1971 J. J. PETRUZELLA, JR 3, 3

DOUBLE VISOR HELMET 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 24, 1969 United StatesPatent 3,568,211 DOUBLE VISOR HELMET James Joseph Petruzella, Jr.,Carbondale, Pa., assignor to Gentex Corporation, 'Carhondale, Pa. FiledJuly 24, 1969, Ser. No. 844,468 Int. Cl. A42!) 3/ 00; A61f 9/04 US. C].26 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A rigid protective .helmethaving a cover secured to a shell to define a recess for receiving firstand second adjustable visors each movable independently of the otheralong a path between an eye-shielding position and :a retractedposition, each visor being controlled by a manually operable visorslider element. Each slider element projects outwardly from the visorthrough a slot in the cover and terminates in a control knob movablealong the slot. Linking means connects each slider element to the visorat an upper central locality thereof.

.As the slider element is moved along the slot in one direction thevisor is caused to :move downwardly from a retracted position to aneye-shielding position and when the slider element is moved along theslot in the other :direction the visor is moved from an eye-shieldingposition to a retracted position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION and an eye-shielding position and to meansfor moving the visors to and holding themin any desired position.

In helmets of the subject type a rigging structure ordinarily isprovided for supporting the weight of the helmet on the head of thewearer in such a manner that the shell of the helmet is disposed inspaced relation to and about the wearers head to provide for absorbingthe effects of a blow before it reaches the head. In such helmets it isdesirable to provide an eyeshield for protecting the eyes and to thisend a visor may be supported for movement from a retracted positionlocated above the wearers face and eyes which are exposed beneath theforward edge of the shell to an eye-shielding position wherethe visorcovers a portion of the face or at least the eyes of the 'wearer. Aproblem also arises where it may be necessary some of the time not onlyto protect the eyes of the wearer but to cut oil? or reduce the glaredue to the sun or other source of light. Thus, some of the time it maybe desirable to use a clear eye shield and on other occasions a glarereducing shield. To achieve the desired flexibility, it is useful tohave two visors, one clear and one glare proof. 7

Various devices have been proposed for effecting movement of dual visorsand for retaining the visors in desired positions. The problem whicharises in connection with the support of such visors is that in manycases, especially in aviation, the high velocity of the wind or movementthrough the atmosphere tends to lift the visor from the shell unless itis properly restrained. It has been proposed therefore to providevisor-guiding means which may be tracks with which the visor is engaged.In order to prevent or reduce the lifting or displacement of the visors,covers disposed outwardly of the visors have also been securelysupported on the shell. This cover forms with the shell a space intowhich the visors may be retracted and out from which at the lower openside thereof the visors may be moved into eye-shielding position.

In order conveniently to achieve the desired movement of the visors, itis desirable that manually operable means may be actuated by one hand ofthe wearer to effect movement of eitheror both visors into either theretracted or eye-shielding position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a helmet having arigid shell and a pair of transparent visors movable betweeneyeshielding and retracted positions. The cover is secured to the shelland extends over the forward portion thereof to define a downwardopening for receiving the visor in retracted position. The visors aresupported for guided movement along a curved path between a shieldingposition in front of the wearers eyes and a retracted position above theforward portion of the, shell. In the upper portion of the cover twoelongated slots are disposed each extending from one side of said covertoward the center line of the shell transversely of the path of visormovement. A manually operable slider element is mounted in each of saidslots for guided movement along said slots. An elongated link pivotallyconnected at one end to one visor at an upper central locality thereofis pivotally connected one slider within the pocket at a point on saidlink spaced from said one end by a distance substantially equal to thepath of visor movement. By such means, movement of the slider along theslot from the side of the shell toward the center line transmitsmovement to the visor and causes it to move downwardly from theretracted position to eye-shielding position. Clamping means areprovided for clamping the visor in any selected position along the pathof movement of the visor.

The second slider is connected to the second visor in substantially thesame way that the first slider is connected to the first visor. However,the second visor is disposed inwardly of the first visor and the linkingmeans therefor is disposed inwardly of the linking means of the firstvisor. Means such as a pair of tracks are provided at the edge of thecover for guiding the movement of each visor from retracted position toeye-shielding position.

In a second form of the invention the cover has a curved major surfaceconforming in contour to the forward portion of the shell and an upperportion projecting inwardly from said :major surface toward said shell.The elongated slots are disposed in said inwardly projecting cover edgeextending from the side toward the center line of the shell so that theslot edges lie in a surface transverse to said cover major surface. Eachslider element is pivotally connected to the link to provide pivotalmovement of the link relative to the slider element about an axisparallel to the surface in which the slot edges lie.

In a third form of the subject invention the cover has two centrallydisposed slots extending generally parallel to the path of movement ofthe visors. A first manually operable knob is mounted for slidingmovement along the first slot and is connected directly to the outer oneof the visors.

The second manually operable knob is mounted for sliding movement alongthe second slot and is pivotally connected to a link which is connectedto an idler member which is movable along a slot disposed transverselyto the path of visor movement in the upper portion of the cover. Thelink is bent through an angle of about at the point of pivotalconnection with the idler member. A second portion of the linking meansconnects the idler with the inner visor. The first portion of thelinking means is disposed between the inner surface of the cover and theouter visor and the second portion is disposed inwardly of the outervisor. According to this construction, when the manually operable knobis moved downwardly in the second slot, the idler is caused to movetransversely from a position near the edge of the cover along the slottoward the center line of the shell. As it so moves, the second portionof the link is caused to move with the idler and concomitantly downwardmovement of the visor is effected.

In each of the above summarized forms of the invention, the manuallyoperable knob is positioned externally of said slot and may releasablyengage edge portions of said slot to hold said visor against movementfrom a selected position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of ahelmet having mounted thereon an eye-shield structure embodying thepresent invention in a particular form with the one eye shield disposedin eye-shielding position and the other in retracted position;

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the helmet of FIG. '1;

visors between eye-shielding and retracted positions thereof as wellas'for holding the visors in selected positions 7 between these twoextreme positions. Upper portion 33 FIG. 3 shows a front view of thehelmet of FIGS. 1

and 2 with one visor in retracted position and one in eyeshieldingposition;

FIG. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the manually operable knob and clampingmeans for the helmet shown in FIGS. 1-4;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of an alternative embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a top view of a further modification of the invention in whichone visor is disposed in eye-shielding position;

FIG. 9 shows a front elevation of a cut-away portion of the helmet ofFIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a section on line 10--10 of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In FIG. 1 is shown a helmet having a rigid outershell 21 of suitable material. Shell 21 has an opening at the lower sidethereof for receiving the head of the wearer. The opening is defined byan edge 22 disposed at a level somewhat above the eyes and above thenape of the neck of the wearer. Shell 21 is supported on the head of thewearer by rigging and headband means not shown. The edge 22 of shell 21extends about an ear cup 24 which is incorporated in shell 21. The shellcarries an outer visor or eye shield 25 and an inner visor or eye shield26. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the visors are supported for movementbetween eye-shielding position and retracted position. Thus, variousviews are shown of visor 25 in eye-shielding position and visor 26 inretracted position. As seen in FIG. 2, track members 27a and 27b aredisposed on opposite sides on the front face of the shell 21. The trackmembers 27a and 27]) may be attached to the shell by suitable means suchas screws 28. Screws 28 may be threaded into nuts (not shown) on theinner surface of the shell. The heads of the screws 28 bear on the outerexterior surface of the edge portions of a cover 29 which is supportedin outwardly spaced relation to the shell and outwardly to the visors25, 26. Cover 29 has a curved major surface 75 conforming in contour tothe forward portion of shell 20. Cover 29 has an upper edge portion 33projecting inwardly from said major surface 75 transversely toward saidshell. Cover 29 and shell 20 define a recess into which visors 25 and 26may be retracted.

Visors 25 and 26 are formed'with slide elements (not shown) which fitfor sliding movement within the grooves 30 of tracks 27a and 27b.

In FIGS. 1 to 4 inclusive is shown a novel construction for support of adual visor on the helmet and detent means for these visors which providefor movement of both of cover 29 has formed therein two slots 31 and 32.As seen in FIG. 2', slot 31 extends from one side of cover 29 toward thecenter line of the shell. Slot 32 extends from the other side of cover29 toward the center line of cover 29.

As best seen in FIG. 1, upper edge portion 33 of cover 29 is disposedtransversely to shell 21 so that slots 31 and 32 lie in a surfacetransverse to the cover major surface 75. A manually operable sliderelement, including a knob portion indicated generally at 34, is providedfor disposition through slot 31. Slider element 34, which will bedescribed in more detail below, is pivotally connected at pivot 35 tolink 36. Link 36 is pivotally connected to visor 26 at 37 in an uppercentral locality thereof. When visor 26 is in retractedposition as seenin FIG. 1, the link is disposed substantially parallel to upper edgeportion 33. Slider element 38 is disposed in slot 32 and is pivotallyattached to link 39 at pivot 40. Link 39 is pivotally connected to visor25 in an upper central locality thereof at 41. When visor '25 is ineye-shielding position the slider element 38 is disposed in slot 32 nearthe center line of cover 29 and link 39 is disposed in a directiongenerally transverse to slot 32. When the slider element 38 is movedalong slot 32 from the center line of cover 29 toward the side of cover29, visor 25 is pulled upwardly. The pivotal connection of the link 39to slider element 38 is such as to provide pivotal movement of link 39relative to slider element 38 about an axis parallel to the surface 33in which slot 32 lies. Slider element 38 is constructed in such a waythat the visor may be clamped in position at any selected leveldetermined by the position of the slider element 38 along slot 32.

The slider element 34 is shown in detail in FIG. 5. A screw 42 with ahead 43 is adapted for threaded engagement with counter member 44 whichis mounted on block 45. Aflixed to block 45 is a downwardly protrudingmember 46 which is pivotally connected at 40 to link 39. Threaded uponthe threaded portion of counter member 44 is a nut '47 which engages theouter surface of upper edge portion 33 of cover 29. Counter member 44 isprovided with a threaded bore adapted to threadedly receive screw 42. Awasher member 48 is mounted on counter member 44. Washer 48 is disposedbetween block 45 and the inner surface of edge portion 33 of cover 29.Nut 47 is shaped to form a hand-gripping means so that it may be movedupwardly or downwardly on counter member 44 by a simple turning actionof the fingers.

Clamping action may 'be obtained 'by turning nut 47 so that it axiallyis drawn toward block 45 until nut 47 engages the outer surface of upperedge portion 33, and washer member '48 engages the inner surface of theupper edge portion 33. Unclamping may be effected by a slight rotationalmovement of the nut 47 in opposite direction, which will tend toseparate nut 47 from block 45 and permit sliding movement of the detentmeans 34 on slot 31. Nut 47 is retained on counter member 44 by screwmember 42 and screw member 42 threadedly engages with the internal boreof counter member 44 which may be set at a position which permits nut 47to be tightened to effect clamping action and loosened sufliciently topermit free sliding movement of the slider element 34 along slot 31. Atthe same time, the screw 42 is set so as not to permit excessiveloosening of nut 47. If itis desired to remove the entire assembly screw42 may be rotated until it .is

r the center line of the shell. Slider elements 53 and 54 are disposedfor movement within slots 50 and '51 and the axes of said sliderelements are disposed transversely of the surface of cover 49. Sliderelements 53 and 54 are respectively connected by links 55 and 56 toouter visor or eye shield 57 and inner visor or eye shield 58 in thesame manner that slider elements 34 and 38 are connected by links 39 and37 to visors 25 and 26-. In operation the eye shields shown in FIGS. 6and 7 can be moved from retracted to eye-shielding position and clampedin said positions in the same manner as that shown in FIGS. 1-4. Theslider elements 53 and 54 may be constructed in the manner shown in FIG.5. As in the case of the embodiment shown in FIGS. l-4, the eye shieldsin the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are movable independently ofone another.

FIGS. 8-10 show another alternative embodiment of the inventionheretofore described. Cover 61 conforms in contour to the outer surfaceof the front portion of shell 62. Slots 59 and 60 are formed in cover 61and each extends from the upper central portion of cover 61 to a lowercentral portion thereof in a direction generally parallel to the path ofmovement of the visors. Slider element 63 is disposed for slidingmovement along slot 60. Slider element 63 is connected by suitable meansdirectly to outer visor 64 at an upper central portion thereof at 76.Slider element 65 is disposed for sliding movement along slot 69, andcontrols the movement of inner visor 66 in the manner described below.Slider element 65 is pivotally connected at 67 to link 68. A slot 70 isformed in the upper portion of cover 61 and extends transversely fromone edge of cover 61 toward the center line. Link 68 extends from aslider element 65 to an idler element 69 mounted for sliding movementalong slot 70. At idler =69 link '68 is bent through an angle ofapproximately 180 and extends inwardly of the outer visor 64 topivotally connect with the inner visor 66 at 73.

' In operation, outer visor 64 may be moved from a retracted position toan eye-shielding position by moving slider element 63 along slot '60.The visor may be set at any desired position by clamping slider element"63 to cover '61 in a manner similar to the clamping action effected bythe embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4.

The inner visor 66 may be moved from retracted position to eye-shieldingposition by movement of manually operable slider element 65. Movement ofthe slider element 65- downwardly causes idler member 69 to movetransversely toward the center line of cover 61 along slot 70. Movementof the idler in such direction causes link 68 to follow idler 69 andpull downwardly visor 66 until it reaches the eye-shielding position asshown in FIG. 9. When the visor is in the desired position, the detentmeans may be used to clamp the visor in the manner heretofore described.

While a particular form of slider element has been shown and describedin FIG. 5, it should be kept in mind that there are many detent meanswhich may be used to control the locking of a visor. It may beappreciated that there may be other alternative forms of a clampingdevice which can be substituted by one skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. A helmet comprising:

(a) a shell adapted to receive the head of a wearer;

(b) a first visor supported on the shell for movement along a pathextending between an eye-shielding position and a retracted position;

(c) a second visor disposed inwardly of the first visor and supported onthe shell for movement between an eye-shielding position and a retractedposition;

(d) a cover affixed to the shell and cooperating With the shell todefine a recess sufliciently large to receive the first and secondvisors in their retracted positions, said cover having a first elongatedslot and a second elongated slot, at least one of said all) slotsextending transversely of and on one side of the center line of thepaths of movement of said visors;

(e) a first manually operable visor position adjusting assemblyextending outwardly from the first visor through the first slot in thecover comprising (1) a first control member;

(2) a first means for linking the first control member to the firstvisor so that as the control memis moved in one direction along thefirst slot, the first visor is caused to move from a retracted positionto an eye-shielding position and as the first control member is moved inthe opposite direction along the first slot the first visor is caused tobe moved from an eye-shielding position to a retracted position; and

(f) a second manually operable visor position adjusting assemblyextending outwardly from the second visor through the second slot in thecover, said second visor position adjusting assembly being operableindependently of the operation of the first visor position adjustingassembly comprising (3) a second control member;

(4) a second means for linking the second control member and the secondvisor so that as the second control member is moved in one directionalong the second slot, the second visor is caused to move from aretracted position toward an eyeshielding position and as the secondcontrol member is moved in the opposite direction along the second slot,the second visor is caused to move from an eye-shielding position towarda retracted position.

2. A helmet as defined in claim 1 in which the first and second controlmembers each include two cooperating threaded elements being relativelyrotatable about an axis extending through the respective slot and twoclamp'members being spaced along said axis on opposite sides of thecover and operable into and out of gripping engagement with said coverby relative rotation of said threaded members while the visor remainsfixed to one threaded member during said relative rotation whereby saidvisor may be moved to and held in any selected position along its pathby translation and rotation of said threaded member.

3. A helmet as defined in claim 1 in which the first linking meanscomprises a first elongated member one end of which is pivotallyconnected to the first control member, the other end of which ispivotally connected to the first visor, said first elongated memberhaving a length approximately equal to the length of the path ofmovement of the first visor from its retracted position to itseyeshielding position.

4. A helmet as defined in claim 3 in which the second linking meanscomprises a second elongated member one end of which is pivotallyconnected to the second control member, the second end of which ispivotally connected to the visor, said second elongated member having alength approximately equal to the length of the path of movement of thefirst visor from its retracted position to its eye-shielding position.

5. A helmet as defined in claim 3 in which the first linking means ispivotally connected to the first visor at a point near the midpoint ofthe first visor.

6. A helmet as defined in claim .1 in which both first and secondelongated slots extend transversely of the path of movement of the firstvisor.

7. A helmet as defined in claim 3 in which the cover has a top portiondisposed substantially transverse to the surface of the first visor andthe first elongated slot is disposed in said top portion of the cover sothat the first control member is movable along a path substantiallytransverse to the path of movement of the first visor.

8. A protective helment including:

(a) a rigid helmet shell adapted to receive the head of a wearer;

(b) atransparent visor; and p (c) means secured to said shell forsupporting said visor for guided movement along a curved path between ashielding position in front of the wearers eyes and a retracted positionabove the forward portion of said shell; wherein the improvementcomprises:

(d) a cover secured to said shell and extending over the forward portionof said shell in spaced relation thereto to define a downwardly openingpocket for receiving said visor in said retracted position, said coverhaving an elongated slot in its upper portion extending from one side ofsaid shell toward the center line of said shell transversely of the pathof visor movement;

(e) a slider element mounted in said slot for guided movement along saidslot; and

(f) an elongated link pivotally connected at one end to said visor at anupper central locality thereof, and pivotally connected to said sliderelement within said pocket at a point on said link spaced from said oneend by a distance substantially equal to the path of visor movement, fortransmitting movement of said slider element to said visor so that assaid slider element moves along said slot from the side of the shelltoward the center line of the shell, said visor moves downwardly fromsaid retracted position toward said shielding position.

9. A helmet as defined in claim 8 wherein said cover has a curved majorsurface conforming in contour to said shell forward portion, whereinsaid cover further has an upper edge portion projecting inwardly fromsaid major surface toward said shell, wherein said slot is disposed insaid inwardly projecting cover edge portion so that the slot edges liein a surface transverse to said cover major surface, and wherein thepivotal connection of said link to said slider element provides pivotalmovement of said link relative to said slider element about an axisparallel to the surface in which said slot edges lie.

10. A helmet as defined in claim 9 wherein said slider element comprisesmanually operable means, including a knob positioned externally of saidslot for releasably engaging edge portions of said slot to hold saidvisor against movement from a selected position, the distance betweensaid shell and the surface of said knob most remote therefrom being notmore than about equal to the width of said cover edge portion measuredin a direction transverse to the surface of said shell.

11. A helmet as defined in claim 8 wherein said cover has a curved majorsurface conforming in contour to the front portion of said helmet shell,and wherein said slot is so disposed that its edges lie in said covermajor surfaces.

12. A helmet as defined in claim 8 wherein said visor supporting meanscomprises a pair of tracks respectively extending along opposite sideedges of said visor and engaging said side edges to support said visorfor sliding movement between said retractedand eye-shielding positions.

13. A helmet as defined in claim 12 further including a second visordisposed outwardly of said first-mentioned visor with respect to saidhelmet andengaged at its side edges in said tracks for guided slidingmovement along a curved path between a shielding position in front ofthe wearers eyes and a retracted position above said shell forwardportion within said pocket; and manually operable means connected tosaid second visor for moving said second visor between its shielding andretracted positions, said cover having a second slot, said manuallyoperable means extending through said second slot and being movablealong said second slot to effect movement of said second visor betweenits shielding and retracted positions.

14. A helmet as defined in claim 8 wherein said cover has a centrallydisposed second slot extending in a direction generally parallel to thepath of movement of said visor; further including a manually operableknob mounted for sliding movement along said second slot; and whereinsaid link is bent through an angle of about at its point of pivotalconnection with said slider element and extends therefrom to a secondend pivotally connected to said knob in such manner that downwardmovement of said knob in said second slot effects transverse movement ofsaid slider element in said first slot toward said shell centerline andconcomittant downward movement of said visor from said retractedposition to said shielding position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,315,272 4/1967 011: et a1. 2-6X3,366,972 2/1968 Wise et a1. 2--6 3,491,371 1/1970 De Angelis 263,495,273 2/1970 Aileo 2-6 H. HAMPTON HUNTER, Primary Examiner

